K-pop fans everywhere came together to enjoy a weekend filled with musical performances, K-beauty booths, Korean food, K-dramas and movies, and so much more.
Held at the Los Angeles Convention Center and the Crypto.com Arena, KCON LA is the culmination of all things K-culture. Booths featuring Korean brands such as CJ ENM, Olive Young, Bibigo, Viki, Tous Les Jours, and Asiana Airlines can be found on the festival grounds, giving KCONers a chance to learn more about their products.
K-Beauty Takes Over Festival Grounds
K-Beauty had the biggest presence on the festival grounds. KCON LA title sponsor Olive Young‘s booth was front-and-center with its eye-catching and vibrant green decor. The booth was titled “Olive Young School”, and within it, attendees can find brands such as Bringgreen, Colorgram, and Bioheal Boh. Olive Young is South Korea’s leading beauty and health retailer, with over 1,370 stores.
The Olive Young booth activations allowed attendees a chance to take home makeup and skincare products, and provided an opportunity to learn more about the specific items, such as sheet masks, sun care, and more. Olive Young will open their first US store in Los Angeles in 2026, bringing fan-favorite brands to international beauty and skincare enthusiasts.
Aside from the Olive Young booth, beauty brands such as Dr. Jart, COSRX, and Sung Saem Mool also had a presence on the festival grounds. Lines wrapped around the booths as KCONers awaited their turn at the activations, showing the growing popularity of K-beauty and skincare.
K-Food
If you’re a consumer of K-dramas and movies, you may already be aware of Korean food brand Bibigo. Their products range from mandu (dumplings) to kimchi, to crispy chicken and seaweed snacks, as well as a variety of dips and sauces. During KCON LA, attendees can queue up to try seaweed snacks and sauces, as well as see some of Bibigo’s products in person.
Popular K-pop group SEVENTEEN has a collaboration with Bibigo, including TikTok photo challenges, smart watch faces, and customizable photo frames. The Bibigo booth at KCON showcased the collaboration, with individual posters of the members, a larger-than-life photo of the group spanning the entire booth wall, as well as a showcase of the food packaging featuring SEVENTEEN.
Other food brands such as Tous les Jours, McDonald’s, and Jollibee were also featured on the festival grounds. Korean bakery brand Tour les Jours had a photo booth activation and fans received coupons for a free cake slice. McDonald’s featured their spicy chicken snack wraps, and the Jollibee mascot can be seen dancing to K-pop beats on the Dance Stage.
X Stage, Dance Stage, and Busking Stage
There are several special areas on the festival ground for KCONers to see up-and-coming groups or dance their hearts out. The X Stage is a newly created stage showcasing rookies – groups or artists who are on the rise. Throughout the weekend, rookie groups took the stage to perform songs and play games, giving the attendees a chance to see them up close ahead of the M Countdown concert at the Crypto.com Arena
Groups include:
- 82MAJOR
- NEWBEAT
- ifeye
- HITGS
- KiK50
- from20, Hello Gloom, Lim Sejun, Kang Yunchan (under WAY BETTER label)
- So Soo Bin
Artists can also be found on the Busking Stage, just outside on the festival grounds. In this outdoor area, you’ll also find small vendors selling goods such as photocard holders, keychains, phone grip. There are also official albums, photo cards, and other K-pop goods available.
The Dance Stage is where KCONers can dance to their heart’s content. Whether you’re participating in Random Dance Play or learning a choreography for a dance challenge, this is the place to be! K-pop dance cover crews will also hold performances in this space.
125,000 attendees enjoyed KCON this year, and the City of Los Angeles official designated August 1 as “KCON Day”. The evening concerts at the Crypto.com Arena were livestreamed for the first time ever with Amazon Music on Prime Video and Twitch.
There is plenty to do at KCON, and the Festival grounds had everything from booth activations to performance stages to vendors. Be sure to give yourself plenty of time if you want to participate in the activations because those lines will fill up pretty quickly. Overall, KCON is a great place to meet other fans and learn more about the culture.
